Refrigerator door fastener



Nov. 13, 1945. J. v. JAMISON, JR

REFRIGERATOR DOOR FASTENER Filed April 28, 1944 Patented Nov. 13, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE REFRIGERATOR DOOR FASTENER- John Vincent Jamison, Jr., Hagerstown. Md., as-

signor to Jamison Cold Storage Door Company, Hagerstown, Md., a corporation of Maryland Application April 28, 1944, Serial No. 533,148

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-79) The invention relates to new and useful improvements in door fasteners and more particularlyto a fastener for refrigerator doors, or any other type of tight fitting insulated doors.

An object of the invention is to provide a fastener including a springpressed latch lever wherein means is provided for adjusting the tension of the springs bearing on the said latch lever.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastener of the above type with a plurality of springs for forcing the latch lever into lockin engagement with the keeper.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fastener of the above type wherein the latch lever carries a cross head at its outer end with which is associated an adjustable abutment and wherein two springs are arranged between the cross head and the abutment for urging the latch lever and the locking roller carried thereby into engagement with akeeper.

These and other objects will in part be obvious and will in part be hereinafter more fully disclosed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a view showing the improved fastener applied to a refrigerator door;

Figure 2 is a sectional view longitudinally through the fastener in a plane at right angles to the frame and door;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the abutment for the springs adjusted for increasing the tension on the springs.

The invention has to do with an improvement in a fastening device for refrigerator doors such as shown in the application granted to David Charles Elwyn Leonard and John Vincent Jamison Jr., on February 21, 1939, No. 2,147,794.

One of the features which has been improved is the mounting of the abutment for the spring which forces the latch into engagement with the keeper so that it may be shifted to different set positions for varying the tension on the springs.

A further improvement resides in providing the latch lever with a cross head and extending the abutment so that a pair of springs may be utilized for actuating the latch lever.

In the present illustrated embodiment the keeper is mounted on the door and the latch lever, associated abutment and springs are mounted on the door frame. The door is indicated at ID in the drawing and is provided with a member H which overlies the door frame l2 when the door is closed. A gasket I3 is carried by the door member and is compressed between said member knobs.

and the door frame so as to tightly seal the refrigerated or insulated chambe when'the door is closed. The door is provided with a keeper M, the body portion l5 of which is secured by bolts l6, [6 to the door. The keeper at its locking end is provided at its outer side with an inclined face I! and at its inner side with an inclined face l8. Mounted on the dOOr frame I2 is a housing l9 for the latching mechanism. This latching mechanism includes a latch lever 20 which is pivoted at 21 to the housing. The latch lever extends outwardly from its pivotal support and is disposed substantially at right angles to the plane of the door. Said latch lever is provided with a recess 22 and with projecting lugs 23, 23 at the ends of the recess. A roller 24 is mounted on a pivot pin 25 carried by these lugs 23. At the outer end of the latch lever 20 is a cross head 25. Also mounted in the housing I9 is an abutment 21. A bolt 28 extending through a slot 29 in the housing is threaded into this abutment. The housing has recesses 30 and 3| formed therein and the upper walls of these recesses are inclined as indicated at 32. The abutment 21 has rearwardly projecting members 33 and 34 initially engaged within the recesses 30 and 3|, respectively.

The abutment is provided with a knob 35 adjacent one end thereof and the cross head 26 is provided with a similar knob 36 adjacent the end thereof. A spring 31 engages these knobs 35 and 36. There are similar knobs at the other end of the abutment and also at the other end of the cross head, and a spring 38 engages said These two springs operate to force the latch lever in a direction toward the keeper. The outer end of the latch lever 20 is provided with a shoulder 39 which is adapted to engage a stop member 40 on the housing when the door is open and the keeper moved out of contact with the roller 24.

When the'door is moved to closed position the roller will contact with the inclined face l8 and the latch lever will move to the left to the dotted line position shown in Figure 3, and this will permit the keeper to pass the roller and the roller to move around into engagement with the inclined face I! of the keeper.' The springs bearing on the latch lever will then force the door into very tight sealing contact with the door frame. When it is desired to vary the tension on the springs, the bolt 28 is turned so as to raise the abutment and the raising of the abutment through the coaction of the inclined faces 33 and 34 with the inclined faces on the abutment will force said abutment toward the latch lever and thus increase the tension on the springs. The bolt 28 extends through the slot 29 in the housing and this permits the bolt to move laterally with the abutment to its new set position, as shown in full lines in Figure 3.

It has been found in practice that the flexibility of a spring becomes lighter with years of service, and without any means for increasing the tension of the spring, the door will not be held properly closed. When the fastener is provided with an adjustable abutment for the spring means which forces the latch lever and its associated roller into contact with the keeper,the tension of the spring, or springs if more than one is used, can be varied to suit the conditions so that the door can be easily closed and yet held very tightly closed. After a period of service, if the flexibility of the spring decreases, then the abutment may be easily adjusted to increase the tension on the spring. This enables the fastener to be kept in a very emcient condition for operation.

When two springs are used, as shown in the present illustrated embodiment of the invention, one at each end of the cross head on the latch lever, there is no tilting or twisting of the latch lever, but it will be swung bodily about its pivotal support with even pressure at both sides thereof.

While two springs have been shown, it has been understood that from certain aspects of the invention, one spring might be used and more than two springs might be used. The preferred arrangement, however, is that illustrated wherein two springs are arranged on opposite sides of a center plane through the latch lever at right angles to the pivotal axis thereof. It is obvious that changes may be made in the mounting of the abutment associated with the latch lever and also in the means for shifting the same without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A door fastener comprising a keeper having a tapered face at the locking end thereof, a pivoted latch lever disposed at substantially right angles to the plane of the door, a roller mounted on said lever and cooperating with the keeper for holding the door closed, a housing for enclosing the latch lever, said housing having an inclined face at the side thereof opposite the latch lever, an abutment disposed within said housing and adapted to be shifted relative thereto, said abutment having an inclined face initially contacting the inclined face of the housing, a pair of springs between the abutment and the latch lever for urging the roller into engagement with the keeper, said springs being disposed upon opposite sides of a center plane at right angles to the axis of the pivoted latch lever and a bolt carried by the housing and attached to said abutment for shifting the same along the inclined face of the housing for varying the tension of said springs.

2. A door fastener comprising a keeper having a tapered face at the locking end thereof, a pivoted latch lever disposed at substantially right angles to the plane of the door, a roller mounted on said lever and cooperating with the keeper for holding the door closed, a housing for enclosing the latch lever, said housing having an inclined face at the side thereof opposite the latch lever, an abutment disposed within said housing and adapted to be shifted relative thereto, said abutment having an inclined face initially contacting the inclined face of the housing, a pair of springs between the abutment and the latch lever for urging the roller into engagement with the keeper, said springs being disposed upon opposite sides of a center plane at right angles to the axis of the pivoted latch lever and a bolt carried by the housing and attached to said abutment for shifting the same along the inclined face of the housing for varying the tension of said springs, said bolt being substantially parallel with the latch lever and shiftable in the housing with the abutment.

JOHN VINCENT JAMISON, JR. 

